Box collecting electrode for electrical precipitators



April 7, 1936.

E. ENGERT BOX COLLECTING ELECTRODE FOR ELECTRICAL PRECIPITATORS Filed Dec. 6, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 NVEN IxI BY avm/QM@ April 7, 1936. E. ENGr-:RT

BOX COLLECTING ELECTRODE-FOR ELECTRICAL PREGIPITATORS Filed Dec. 6, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 v MM A TTORVNEYS Patented Apr. 7, 1936 UNITEDI STATES PATENT OFFICE Box coLLEc'nNG ntnc'rnonlil Fon ELECTRICAL rnncrrrrn'rons Eugen Frankfort-on-tlie-Main, Germany,

assigner to International Precipitation Company, LosAngeles, Calif., a corporation oi' Caliornia 'Application December s, 1934, seal No. 756,356 In Germany December 14, 1933 vide an improved torm of collecting electrode of the so-called "box electrode or hollow electrode"'type, and particularly to' provide novel and advantageous means for effecting the movew ment `of precipitated material from the collecting surfaces of such an'electrode into the interior thereof, while preventing the material within the interior of said electrode from being picked up by the gas stream.

'I'he previously known box electrodes for electrical precipitators have relatively xed side walls, in which slots or other perforations are placed. Through these slots the particles separated from the gases are to be conducted into the inside of I w the box and thus removed from the gas stream.

It has been shown, however, that this purpose has not always been achieved and that even that the gas may enter the interior of the electrode through said slots or perforations and may pick up and carry away some of vthe material which has once been precipitated.

In recognition of these difficulties, this invention endeavors to solve the problem of providing a new method for conduction of the particles into the inside of the hollow box electrodes- According to this invention, the wall which is exposed to the dust deposit, andl which may consist of one or more parts, presents a substantially continuous surface, that is, vhas no perforations or slots of any considerable width or size, but is constructed so that the several parts thereof are movable toward the inside of the box.' In. this way a conduction oi.' the dust deposit into the interior of the electrode is obtained without necessitating rapping. The solution of the problem is simplified if the wall of the box consists of separate strips or sections mounted for pivotal movement about horizontal axes and toward thev interior of the box, said strips normally hanging vertically and thus forming a smooth surface, similar to a Venetian blind, The pivotal axis oi' The principal object of the invention is to pro each strip is preferably adjacent the upper edge thereof. In this case it is possible to place opposite strips in such a position that they may be moved inward to such position that their lower edges meet. .'Ifhe jarring eected by this strik- 5 ing of the lower'dges of the strips causes loosening of the dust deposit and the conduction of the dust into the inside of the box electrode. The arrangement may be such that the opposite strips are alternately Imovable toward each other and m be used, especially as to the mechanism used for moving the strips, the arrangement oi the axes for the strips, and to forms of the strips them- 15 selves, and a number of such modifications will be described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which the invention is shown schematically and in several forms of con- Stmction.

Referring to the drawings:

Figs. l and 2 are perspective views showing a hollow box electrode according to this invention, Fig. l showing the closed box with the strips hanging vertically, and Fig. 2 the box with sec- 25 tions or strips moved inwardly ,to position for discharging the dust into the interior thereof:

Fig. 3 is a vertical section through a box electrode of the type shown in Figs. l and 2, looking toward the forward end of said gures; 30

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on line 4 4 in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 shows schematically the operation oi. the hollow box electrode;

Figs. 6 and 7 are vertical sections through an- 35 other i'orm of box electrode, in closed and'openl position respectively;

f Figs. 8 to 10 show another form' voi' construction in vertical section with alternately movable strips; 40

Fig. 1l is a horizontal section on line I l-H in Fig. 8:

Figs. '12 and 13 show another form oi construction oi' the strips and the operating means therewalls forming a hollow boxlike structure which is open at the bottom for passage. It will be understood that in an electrical precipitator a number of these box electrodes will be mounted in position to permit the gas to be treated to pass between said electrodes, suitable discharge electrodes being provided to maintain electrical elds requisite for causing electrical precipitation of suspended material on the side walls of the box electrodes. The outwardly disposed faces of the strips I are preferably substantially ilat or plane, as shown. Usually these strips I hang in vertical position in a common vertical plane, with the adjacent edges of adjoining strips in close proximity to one another as shown in Fig. 1 and in full lines in Fig. 3, so as to form side walls presenting a substantially continuously smooth plane surface without any projecting edges or bent surfaces. By means of a manually operated or mechanically operated mechanism, said strips I 'may be turned inwardly as indicated in Fig. 2 and in dotted lines in Fig. 3, either as necessary or at predetermined intervals.

The operating mechanism shown in Figs. 3 and 4 comprises vertical bars 4 pivotally connected at 5 to the respective strips or sections I and connected at their upper ends by llnlxs 6 to an operating cable or member 'I passing over suitable pulley means 8 and provided at its further end with' a counter-balance 9 which may also serve as al handle for operating said mechanism.

Fig. 5shows schematically, in vertical section, several box electrodes mounted to form a plurality of gas passages therebetween, suitabledischarge electrodes I being positioned between the electrodes and suitable means being provided for maintaining a sufficiently high potential diierence between the discharge electrodes and the box electrodes, which operate as collecting electrodes, to cause'suspended material carried in gases passing between these electrodes to be deposited on the side walls of the latter. In that portion of the precipitator indicated at A the strips or plates of` the side walls of the box electrodes are in closed position so as to form substantially continuous side walls adapted to receive the deposit of precipitated material indicated at I2. At the box electrode indicated at B, the'wall plates or strips have been turned inwardly so as to loosen the dust deposit and conduct it into the interior of the box.

As the strips or sections I are turned inwardlyl their lower edges strike one another so as to jar and loosen the deposit and Aeach pair of oppositely placed strips forms a V-shaped trough having inwardly and downwardly inclined walls adapted to receive the material dislodged from the overlying pair of strips and to conduct such material inwardly toward the center of the box electrode. As the distance is short from one pair of strips to the next lower one, dust eddies cannot occur, thereby preventing precipitated materi'al from being caught -up by the gases. On release of the pull on the, operating mechanism', the strips I fall back into their original vertical position, as shown for the electrodes at C in Fig. 5, and the loosened dust, which is containedin the hollow box, descends by gravity to the usual dust hopper or receiving means below the open lower end of the box electrode without disturbing -the conditions in the electrical eld or coming into contact with the gases passing between the electrodes. The closing of the strips can be effected Without interruption' of the operation, as the operating mechanism is inside of the box and there are no parts to be injured or rendered dangerous by high voltage.

As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the operating means for the electrode wall strips or sections indicated at I3 may comprise a common operating bar I4 connected by links I to brackets I6 on the strips I3 in such manner that when the bar I4 is drawn upward the opposite strips I3 are drawn inward and strike together to form a V-shaped structure as shown in Fig. 7.

If desired the strips or sections at the opposite sides of the box electrode may be operated alternately. For example, as shown in Figs. 8 to 11 the wall strips indicated at I8, may be pivotally mounted at I9 on the end walls, one of which is shown at l2l), and may be operated alternately either by hand or automatically,l by means of the bars 2| and 22 pivotally connected respectively to the strips I8 at opposite sides of the box electrode so that by operating the bar 2 I, for example, all of the strips at one side may be'moved inwardly so as to approach or strike the strips at the opposite side as shown in Fig. 9 and in the ensuing operation the said bar 2I is operated to return the strips I8 at that side to normal position and the bar 22 is operated to move the strips I8 at the opposite side inwardly.

Figs. 12 and 13 show a form of the invention in which the wall strips or sections 24 at opposite sides of the box electrodes are staggered or offset. The operating means for the-strips 24 comprises a bar 25, pivotally connected to all of the all strips 24 so as toI operate the same simultaneously, said bar 25 being operated either manually or mechanically. For example, said bar may be connected by a link 21 to crank or eccentric means 28 whereby said bar is raised and lowered periodically or at any time desired so as to move the wall strips 24 from vertical position shown in Fig. 12 to inclined or inturned position shown in Fig. 13. In this form oi' the invention the strips of each side wall are shown as spaced apart from the strips of the opposite wall at their lower portions when in inwardly turned position, so that a continuous passage is provided through which the precipitated material may descend' after it has been loosenedfrom the strips in the jar due to operation thereof. Ii desired, the arrangement may be such that each wall strip strikes the operating bar 25 at the end oi' its inward movement so as to assist in loosening of the material from the strip. p

As shown in Figs. 14 and 15 theA pivoted wall plate 28 for the box electrode may be provided with extensions as indicated at 29 suspended therefrom, for example, by hinge or link connections 30 so as to increase the dust collecting surface for each wall strip, these strip extensions 29 moving inwardly with the main strips 28 so as to permit the dust to be dislodged therefrom along with the dust from the main strips.

I claim: p

v1. A box electrode for electrical precipitating apparatus comprising a side wall formed of a plurality of sections disposed one above another and each having a substantially plane outwardly disposed surface, said sections being movably mounted to enable them to be moved to vertical positions in a common vertical plane with their adiacent edges in close proximity with one another, providing a substantially continuous plane surface, and to be moved inward to positions permitting free passage of precipitated material from said plane surfaces into the interior of said box electrode, and operating vmeans for movingA said sections between said two positions.

2. A box electrode for electrical precipitating apparatus comprising two spaced side walls each formed of a plurality of sections disposed one above another, each of said sections having a substantially plane outwardly disposed surface, the sections of each wall being movably mounted to enable them to be moved to vertical positions in a common vertical plane with their adjacent edges in close proximity to one another, providing a substantially continuous plane surface, and to be moved inward to positions permitting free passage of precipitated material from said plane surfaces into the interior of said box electrode, and operating means for moving said sections between said two positions.

'3. A construction as set forth in claim 2 wherein said operating means is adapted to operate wall sections on opposite sides of the box electrode so as to swing same inwardly to position in which they form a il-shaped trough and their lower edges meet and strike each other.

i. A construction as set forth in claim 2 wherein the sections on opposite sides of the box electrode are movable inward alternately by said operating means.

5. A construction as set forth in claim 2 wherein the sections are pivoted on horizontal axes and each comprises an upper portion and an extension hung therefrom by hinged connection means. v

EUGEN ENGERT. 

